May the fourth be with you as I start my daily blogging
Today is a big day. An important day. A dear diary day.No, not the dramatic announcement that 95-year-old Prince Philip is stepping down from public duties (!!). Not the 91st anniversary of the start of the General Strike or the 38th anniversary of Mrs Thatcher becoming Prime Minister. Not even the fact that it would have been Audrey Hepburn’s birthday and is The Champ (Tony McCoy's) and Rory McIlroy’s annual age changing day. No, today is my birthday. *Cue Ryanair-style fanfare.I am now 39. I have entered my 40th year on this mortal coil.As I wrote in my previous blog post, I have decided to take the opportunity of the next twelve months - the year for #ben2b40 - to blog every day. I will be sharing my views on a whole variety of things and my experiences as I continue to strive - and hopefully continue to succeed - in living a life where my work always fits around my life and I find the perfect life-work balance - getting those words in the right order.I plan to continue to run my own business - trying to work 3-4 days a week in helping individuals and organisations get the most out of their communications - being picky about who I work with and what I do - looking for work that I will enjoy and people I want to work with. I plan to continue my work towards my PhD (part time) - in strategic communications, examining how the third sector seeks to influence UK government health policy. I plan to play a lot of golf (no change there I hear Mrs J cry!). But most of all I plan to try to enjoy every day - every day in which I want to spend as much time as possible with my wonderful wife and darling daughter. Every day in which I remember to look after myself and my wellbeing so that I can be happy, healthy and the best husband and dad possible.I hope it will be a year to remember. It will certainly be a busy year for me and my MacBook. It’s a big blogging commitment to make and I hope a rewarding one for me and for you, the reader. I wish us both a lot of luck and a lot of stamina!As one of my old English teachers, Mr Lavin, used to say to me during every lesson once he discovered the day of my birth; “May the fourth be with you”.